Hobby Master 1/48 HA8412 P-47D Thunderbolt Capt. Frederick Christensen, 62nd FS/56th FG, England 1944

The Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt entered service in May 1942 with the introduction of the P-47B. It had a Razorback, a high dorsal spine behind the side-ways opening canopy that reduced visibility. As improvements were made a D variant was produced with 12,602 being manufactured. The British developed a sliding bubble canopy for their Typhoon and this was adopted by the USAAF starting with the P-47D-5. With its ability to survive enemy fire along with impressive armament and bomb load the P-47 excelled at ground attack roles.

Frederick Christensen Jr. was assigned to the 62nd Squadron/56th FG in December 1942 and was in England by autumn of 1943. His first aerial victory came in November 1943 when he downed an Me-110. On July 7, 1944 Capt. Frederick Christensen and his squadron were returning for an escort mission when they spotted a dozen Ju-52s returning to land. The slow aircraft presented an irresistible target so the 62nd FS pounced on them with Christensen downing six, bringing his final total for WWII to 21.5 victories.